Blue Book Pages

Monday, February 25, 2013

Getting back into the swing of things as a Reference Librarian... except things have changed a bit in the four years I've been hunting for work.

Computer use has remained constant - relatively free Internet access - but in-person reference research support has dropped.

Some of it may be due to more online reference support - Ask-A-Librarian is a key job responsibility today - but I fear a lot of it may be due to a lack of realizing just how murky online-based information really is. People may be relying too much on Wikipedia and too little on honest-to-Cat peer-reviewed journal research.

This would mean one thing: Outreach. Part of my job has got to be reminding people that researching is more than just the first big hit off your Google search. It's reviewing the source, vetting that source, making sure you're getting quality information.

The other big difference? More computer training than ever before. And this time around, a lot of it seems to be over the new Windows OS format for Win 8 (in two words, It's Confusing). I'm just hoping we can get new library computers with upgrades to Win 7 first...

Monday, February 11, 2013

Hello, City of Bartow Public Library. I am your new Reference and Computer Librarian. If you have any questions about your ereader devices... I will see you next month, because I need to review existing tutorial materials for revisions. In the meanwhile, I can show you where the library keeps its recipe manuals. :-)

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Okay, normally they're in the 005.54 shelf range if you keep to standard Dewey Decimal Classification. But still, I will be able to actually show you the shelf those books are kept. Just as soon as the city office finishes the paperwork.

Yes. Since December 2008... after more than four years of searching for full-time employ... our long national nightmare... is over.